Chandigarh, April 10: The opposition parties in Haryana- Congress and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)-made a direct attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government after it decided to shut down more than 200 government schools in last three years, India Today report said. At the Haryana assembly, the INLD made a point-blank attack on BJP and raised a question to the state government for allowing 900 private schools to open while shutting state schools.

The opposition said that state government has ignored Right to Education by favouring privatisation of educational institutions. The Congress party has also accused BJP of saffronising institutions and poisoning young minds. Speaking to India Today, Ashok Tanwar, state Congress chief, said that 50 per cent of the children in Haryana were deprived of schooling since the BJP government came into power. Education at Stake: This School In Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon Has Been Operating From A Hut for Years; See Pics.

Attacking Manohar Lal Khattar government, INLD leader Ravinder Singh Dhull said, "208 government schools were shut down during the three years between 2015 and 2018. On the other hand, the state government gave permission to open 974 private schools. The government is promoting the privatisation of education. Private players are being given precedence. They have also reduced the education budget."

However, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma refused all the allegations and said that the government was committed to improving the education standards, reported India Today. Explaining the government school shutdown, Bilas said that the schools were shut due to rationalisation as some of the villages had more than one school and limited strength of students.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2019 09:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).